{"id":8442,"date":"2025-06-12T17:22:57","date_gmt":"2025-06-12T16:22:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/main.sommelieredit.com\/?p=8442"},"modified":"2025-06-12T17:33:26","modified_gmt":"2025-06-12T16:33:26","slug":"cathryn-bell-of-the-grove-narberth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/main.sommelieredit.com\/es\/cathryn-bell-of-the-grove-narberth\/","title":{"rendered":"Synaesthesia, Solaia, and the Scent of Home: Cathryn Bell of The Grove, Narberth"},"content":{"rendered":"

One might expect the head sommelier of one of Wales\u2019 most acclaimed restaurants to be stern – perhaps a disciple of the Parisian school, armed with a crystal decanter and a withering frown. But at Fernery restaurant, cradled within The Grove at Narberth\u2019s 26 lush acres of Pembrokeshire wildflower meadows, you\u2019ll find Cathryn Bell: bright-eyed, emotionally fluent, and fizzing with curiosity. Her presence is more poem than protocol, more generosity than gatekeeping. And yet beneath the warmth is a story of sharp pivot points, long miles, and deep thinking\u2026<\/i><\/h3>\n
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\u2018I can\u2019t save the world,\u2019 she says early in our conversation, \u2018but I can create genuine moments of conviviality, sharing, connection and happiness – and that\u2019s the best thing I want to do.\u2019<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Bell\u2019s route into wine didn\u2019t begin with cellars or certifications, but on the northern tip of Zanzibar. \u2018I had started working in responsible tourism in Zanzibar,\u2019 she recalls. \u2018Part of my work was to translate hospitality training for the local workforce, which involved alcohol in the context of food and dining. I was managing a little guest house and so found myself in the position of looking after the alcohol needs of guests.\u2019<\/p>\n

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She hadn\u2019t planned a career in wine – or in restaurants at all – but the shift was profound. \u2018Until this point, I had been a civilian to both hospitality and wine, let alone be in a position to train or deliver it. But suddenly, I was in it – and thus began my learning curve in wine.\u2019 Discovering that there was such a thing as being a sommelier – a livelihood centred around revelling in the wonder and pleasure of wine, food and conviviality – felt like another universe opening up. \u2018For a split second, the jump felt hedonistic, but I realised very quickly it was a far more honest transaction. In both careers, the basic values are the same – making people happy, alleviating life in the moments I can.\u2019<\/p>\n

From the Indian Ocean to the shores of Lough Corrib, Bell\u2019s path took her to Ashford Castle<\/a> in the west of Ireland, where chandeliers glint over heavy-lidded Bordeaux. \u2018I have never taken for granted the fact that I got to start my career in wine in a very privileged position. From the get-go, I was working with a historical cellar and with guests wealthy enough to drink it.\u2019<\/p>\n

One such guest left her with three-quarters of a bottle of Solaia 2007 as a tip – \u2018which I took home in an empty Evian bottle.\u2019 Her first encounter with Raveneau ended in a hail of yellow wax shards: \u2018I hacked away at it tableside until the guest, blinking in the shower, graciously took it off me and opened it himself.\u2019<\/p>\n

Tannic Tides<\/b><\/h3>\n

It was also here that Bell began to understand wine\u2019s darker undercurrents. \u2018I learnt about the psychological warfare that comes with wine: how it\u2019s entangled in barbed threads of intimidation, self-depreciation and aspirations of class and status.\u2019 She saw guests apologise for ordering the house wine, while others rifled through the list like it owed them money. \u2018Having come into the career completely green, completely ignorant, free of the shame and demons around wine that people seemed to have, meant I didn\u2019t have any of my own issues to compound into the mix. I was just happy to be there, enjoying a work based around magic and deliciousness instead of the grim reality of human suffering.\u2019<\/p>\n

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Ireland\u2019s hospitality culture helped her flourish. \u2018Of all the possible places for a fledgling sommelier to hatch, I count my lucky stars every day that I hatched in Ireland – those people raised me.\u2019<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n